Music Presentation: Sylva Emilyan, Fall 2008

Music Presentation
Sylva Emilyan, Fall 2008

What is music?
o Music is organized sound created by human voices

or instruments.
o Some historians believe that music started with

the desire to imitate sounds in nature.
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human

nature cannot do without” - Confucius
Music Seminar: Fall 2008
Silva Emilyan,
DIS 180 “Information Ecology”
“Music is love in search of a voice” - Leo Tolstoy
“Without music, life would be a mistake”

- Friedrich Nietzsche
“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and

philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the
spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven
“Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of

boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must
be paid” - Frank Zappa
What makes a
music genre popular?
In one
word,
FANS!
Most of us listen to
sounds made popular in
our commercial
culture: TV, movie
tracks, concerts, clubs,
malls…
Repetition
• The more that we hear the same sound, the more
it becomes familiar to the ear.
• The more familiar we become to hearing

particular types of sounds the more we can decide
what type of music “sounds good”.
• By using the same elements to create a similar

sound, the audience identifies particular sounds
and groups them into categories of “style”.
• Similar styles of music can be contained under a

larger category called a “genre”
Religion
• During the middle ages and the time of the
Renaissance era, the church had much greater
control of what the people could experience
culturally and the type of music and sounds that
could be played. During this time, what was
“popular” was greatly restricted by the church.
• As the church began to lose some of its dominance

in the mainstream culture, people had more
freedom to choose and create music with fewer
limitations and restrictions.
• “Minor” sound, complex rhythms and untraditional

dynamics and tonalities began to be explored.
Evolution of musical sounds
• As time passes, the “same old sound” may begin to

lose popularity with the mainstream audience.
• Newer sounds that have evolved from the old sound

begin to emerge and change the way particular styles
are played.
• If the change in the style is drastic enough and

establishes enough fans, an entirely new genre is
born.
• Inevitably, these new sounds eventually will become

familiar again and they too will be considered “old.”
Technology of musical sounds
• In taking a closer look at how sounds can evolve to
form a new genre, we can compare the music of
the Classical period over 150 years ago to the
music of just 75 years ago, the age of Jazz and
Swing music.
• During the very early years of Jazz music,

instruments were more similar to a concert band
but shortly after the birth of Jazz a single drummer
on a drum set became essential to every band.
• 150 years ago, in the height of the classical era,

this would not have been possible because the
drum sets were not invented until the early 1900s.
Technology + Evolution
• Just as the drum set and a new style of playing called
“improvisation” ushered in a new genre called Jazz,
the invention of the electric guitar by “Les Paul”
paved the way for a new genre called “Rock ‘n’
Roll”, which evolved from the sound of “Blues
music.”
Political
• Sometimes music gains popularity for
political reasons, as seen in the rise of
folk music during the anti-war / peace
movement of the 60’s.
Regional
• Throughout history, genres are developed in a
particular region.
• “Tango” traditionally originated among European
immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay
but it’s still a dominant part of their culture.
• We can see this regional factor in the
birth of “Grunge” in Seattle, in the
early 90’s.
• Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana

collaborated and influenced each
other in a way that was isolated to
the rest of the pop music world at
that time.
. . .we see how music influences the way we dress,
act, and relate among the people in our culture.
Nirvana
Pearl Jam
Lifestyle
• A new genre of music often emerges because people

believe it gives them the power to express
themselves or the certain type of lifestyle that they
have.
David Bowie
Lifestyle
• Again, we can see lifestyle play a role in people’s

choice of music, such as “Glam” and “Goth” music.
“Glam”
“Goth”
Expression
• Sometimes, a genre is popular just because of the
way it is delivered or expressed.
• One of the main reasons, Disco music became
popular in the late 70’s was for its regular bass beat
which made it particularly fun for dancing.
Lifestyle + Expression
• Usually there are combination of reasons that
ultimately makes a genre of music popular.
• Hip-Hop is an expression of the trials of the
inner-city lifestyle and the emotions that are
associated with it.
In Review. . .
Although we didn’t cover every reason that
makes a genre popular, we can see that
some of the main ones are:
• Repetition • Regional
• Religion • Political
• Evolution • Lifestyle
• Technology • Expression
Results of the survey from our class:
Today’s 3 most popular genres: Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock
What makes genres popular? Most popular answer,

“we hear it all the time”
Where do you get your music from? Internet, iTunes,

and friends.
Do you download illegally? YES (8) NO (5)

FYI: According to the Recording Industry
Association of America
Top 5 Diamond (10 million copies +) albums:

1.Eagles “Greatest Hits, 1971-1975”
2.Michael Jackson “Thriller”
3.Pink Floyd “The Wall”
4.Led Zeppelin “Zeppelin IV”
5.AC/DC “Back in Black”
Top 5 selling artists of all time:
1.The Beatles
2.Garth Brooks
3.Elvis Presley
4.Led Zeppelin
5.Eagles
Credits:
www.RIAA.com
“The Art of Being Human” by Janaro Richard and

Altshuler Thelma
“Listen” by Joseph Kerman and Gary Tomlinson
Wikipedia, musicians
Recommended film: “Latcho Drom”

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Music Presentation

Sylva Emilyan, Fall 2008

o Music is organized sound created by human voices

o Some historians believe that music started with

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human

“Without music, life would be a mistake”

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and

“Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of

• The more familiar we become to hearing

• By using the same elements to create a similar

• Similar styles of music can be contained under a

• As the church began to lose some of its dominance

• “Minor” sound, complex rhythms and untraditional

• As time passes, the “same old sound” may begin to

• Newer sounds that have evolved from the old sound

• If the change in the style is drastic enough and

• Inevitably, these new sounds eventually will become

• During the very early years of Jazz music,

• 150 years ago, in the height of the classical era,

• Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana

• A new genre of music often emerges because people

• Again, we can see lifestyle play a role in people’s

Today’s 3 most popular genres: Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock

What makes genres popular? Most popular answer,

Where do you get your music from? Internet, iTunes,

Do you download illegally? YES (8) NO (5)

Top 5 Diamond (10 million copies +) albums:

“The Art of Being Human” by Janaro Richard and

“Listen” by Joseph Kerman and Gary Tomlinson

Recommended film: “Latcho Drom”

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